Peter Schmeichel has added to Aston Villa's injury crisis by being ruled out of Wednesday's FA Barclaycard Premiership encounter, at West Ham. The former Manchester United keeper has been an ever present since his summer move from Porto and been in fine form in the first third of the season.
But he suffered a thigh injury in Saturday's shock 2-0 defeat by Leicester, when a rare mistake handed James Scowcroft the visitors their second goal. Schmeichel could have been pressed into service at Upton Park, but that would have almost certainly led to an eventual spell on the sidelines and he will instead rest the injury.
He joins Moustapha Hadji, Hassan Kachloul and Alpay as definite non-starters against the Hammers while Ian Taylor (calf) and Lee Hendrie (calf) are also struggling to be fit. Schmeichel's absence will give a rare chance to the Finland international Peter Enckelman. He was understudy to West Ham's former Villa goalkeeper David James, and was expecting to step into his shoes after his summer move, until the arrival of Schmeichel.
Filed by John Raftery
